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Thu, 04 Jun 2015 20:58:40 -0700IGN Entertainment, Inc.Oysteren-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2015/06/04/dragon-age-inquisition-review
A little while ago I finished Dragon Age: Inquisition and the time has come for me to put my thoughts out to the internet. Make no mistake, this is a great game and I believe it to be the best offering the series has had to date. There are definitely a few short comings but there is so much to this game that it can these minor problems can be over looked.
The first thing I noticed about the game (and I played the PS3 version) is how colourful and beautiful it is. One of my major complaints about Dragon Age: Origins was that the world seemed bland - everything had a yellow hue or glaze to it and it made what was otherwise a pretty good looking game set in an interesting world, seem dull.
Dragon Age: Inquisition on the other hand is beautiful and HUGE! There are so many places to see with such a variety of settings and people that it feels like a living, breathing world, in a way that only the truly best games can pull off (and something Bioware has done very well with nearly all of its games). There are no real boarders, everything you can see, you can visit and all the locations have a purpose or a history behind them, which allows you as a player to become more immersed in the game world.
Oddly enough, it is this vast world that sometimes hurts the game, the sheer variety of things to do can really end up giving the player a overwhelming feeling at first but then when many of the side quests result in mediocre rewards, things start to feel like a choir, rather than an adventure. To be fair, all quests seem interesting in the early stages of the game but once you hit the mid way point (and yes this is at approximately 30 - 40 hours in) collecting pelts or shards in each area just isn't compelling.
The main story in the game is very good. I would say it boarders on greatness but falls a little short at the end. You of course play the hero, a generally unknown noble who after a massive disaster, in which you are the sole survivor, are given the ability to save the world. Like most recent Bioware games, you can go about this as a super happy amazing good guy, a complete dick, or somewhere in between. I tend to edge towards the nicer side of things in my run through but I did not find that the choices you made had a huge impact on the story or gameplay.
The game is a lot of fun and the characters you meet in your travels are almost all compelling in their own ways and there are a bunch of characters from previous games which are fun to see again. Some converstations are downright hilarious - I really enjoyed the characters of Varric and Iron Bull. And of course, there are romantic options for nearly all of them depending on what you are into.
I have two minor complaints about the game and these are only personal complaints, as I can see that some people would see these things as a positive. Regardless, here they are:
1) I do not like how the Codex is done - instead of giving a full background on a person, place, or thing - the codex will usually provide some kind of "except" from a book. In one way this is a very good idea and well done. This is, after all, how historical records come about - by reading someones personal notes on a particular subject, however, I found it off-putting to the point where I ended up skipping a lot of the codex entries simply because I didnt want to read through a cryptic poem or story. For whatever reason, I just wanted the facts.
2) There is an instance, about midway through the game where the main story has the player and his/her companions attending a party and seeking the favour of some allies. Although I liked this idea at first, I felt this was a little overdrawn and tedious...it also really seemed to give it to the French culture (labeling them as snobbish). Now that I think about it though - since Bioware is a Canadian company this could be a slight towards our French friends in Quebec... hmmm, never thought of that... I'm sure I'm just over thinking it.
At the end of the day, Dragon Age: Inquisition is a real gem and Bioware has done it yet again. If you haven't given this game a try, I think you should... The first 20 hours go by in a blur as you learn exactly how the game works and the story is really well done (even if it does fall a little short at a few points). One thing for sure, is that there is more Dragon Age coming in the future and if you have any interest in this franchise at all, this is the best way to get into it. Maker smile on you.

Almost to the day, it has been three years since I wrote my review of A Feast for Crows and I could have basically copied and pasted my review for A Dance With Dragons. I was greatly looking forward to this book as it promised to bring back more of the characters I liked best, like John Snow and Tywin Lannister and although the book does have its moments of greatness, it falls into the same traps as the previous book.

I believe Martin should have essentially removed HALF of both A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons and had only one book. Why are we forced to read lengthy chapters of new, barely known characters, who appear out of nowhere with a vast army and lord and lands and are now somehow some kind of major player in the world?

For two books and the better part of a half decade I have been waiting for something to happen in these books like it used to in the first three installments. Instead, Martin has gone the way of Robert Jordan in the sense that there are now so many story lines, so many characters and so many things to keep track of that I find myself utterly confused at times as to who one character is, what side they are on and what their motives are.

I still love this fantasy world and I still love many of the characters and I am compelled to continue to read on, but my patience is wearing thin on many levels. It is Martin's story to tell and he deserves to tell it the way he wants, but stringing us along for years grows tiresome - even Stephen King finished his Dark Tower opus, although it took a near death experience for him to do it and the ending was far from superb, but it was an ending and it wasn't muddled by countless characters.

I believe my experience with this book was further burdened by the fact that I read it on a Kobo reader... on my Blackberry Playbook. That's right, I downloaded the book way back when Blackberry was still relevant and the Playbook was supposed to be a competitor to the ipad. The experience was not enjoyable and as such, I would put the book down for months at a time. Only going back to it when I had nothing better to do and then, the chapters of no real developments and the vast amount of characters I didn't know and didn't care about turned me off.

Martin further annoys me with beginning work on the HBO series that has been such a huge hit. He spends his time working with the writers on the show but now neglects to finish the story or the next book. I am sure that all this has to do with earning money and keeping jobs in today's age of milking every last cent out of something and maybe all of this should have been expected. I just can't help but fear that Martin really doesn't know how to finish this and that we are heading down a path of disappointment.

Regardless, I hope we see the next book soon and it turns some things around. There are some really bad (evil) characters in this world and I really want them to get whats coming to them. The Stark family needs to get some revenge. I can only hope I get to read it someday. A Dance With Dragons gets a 5/10.

]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2015 19:02:34 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2015/04/08/a-dance-with-dragons-review#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2015/01/01/varietyis-breaking-my-brain
They say variety is the spice of life, but currently I am struggling with the variety of games I am working on. Following the defeat of the excellent Baldur's Gate game, I immediately dove into Planescape: Torment. Although I have put about 15 hours into that game, I feel the need for a break. I absolutely recognize the strides the game took back in 1999 and I am sure I will go back and finish the game soon, but the setting, style and themes of the game are just not what I'm looking for right now.

In the past few weeks, I have been dividing my time between Star Wars: The Old Republic, (which is pretty fantasic value when you consider it is Free to Play), The Walking Dead - Season 2, Dragon Age: Inquistion, Divinity: Original Sin, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Assassins Creed and now I'm considering spending some time in Icewind Dale. This shit is crazy.

It's too much and I have always tended to focus my time on one game at a time. I really like these games that I have been trying out, but I need to pick one and run with it. Perhaps I should pick the one that is the shortest and burn through these games that way. Although this creates the problem I sometimes get into, in which I find myself playing a game that is not the one I really want to be playing. So, with this all said, I think the best thing to do right now is to divide my time between two games. One for the computer and one for the consoles.

So I am going to go with Dragon Age: Inquistion and Divinity: Original Sin. Both have the mediveal setting that I love and depending on how much I enjoy the games, I can make them a 60 hour adventure or 100 hour adventure. Once completed, I may be ready to go back and take a look at the older school games again. Because, as they say, variety is the spice of life and adventure awaits...

]]>Thu, 01 Jan 2015 14:53:15 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2015/01/01/varietyis-breaking-my-brain#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/07/16/baldurs-gate-a-review
My first step in overcoming the old school "western" RPGs, was to play and beat Baldur's Gate. I finished the game a little over a week ago and have had time to digest what it was all about and what my thoughts on the game are.

I will say this: had I played this game back in 1998, I would have been blown away and probably purchased every single Bioware game as they came out back in the day. However, knowning what I know now and having a vast amount of video game experience, the monumental achievements of this game are somewhat lost on me. That being said, the game holds up surprisingly well and is certainly deserving of a place in the video game Hall of Fame.

Although dated both graphically and with respect the gameplay, there is still a lot of fun to be had with this game. If you go into it with the right mind frame (ie: this is going to be an old school experience) then you will do just fine. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how much the game had to offer based on my expectations going into it.

Im not into Dungeons and Dragons, althought by playing these games I am learning a little bit more of the mythology and setting of the fantasy world, but you do not really need to know too much about the world to enjoy this game. The game basically has a set of rules each time your player(s) make a move and this is based on the idea that you rolled a dice for each attack/spell and so on. Regardless, you do not really need to understand any of this to enjoy the game or setting. It's just an added layer of fun if you are already a D&D player or are interested in the game.

The overall story is pretty standard for a fantasy - a person of humble beginings who never really knew their past and ends up a part of a huge story which ends with them needing to save the world.... all pretty standard stuff. Buth thrown in is a bunch of character in the form of your companions' backstories, the colourful NCPs and funny dialouge throughout. It is the kind of story that you can feel you are being set up for, but you also feel happy to be along for the ride.

At times, the menu system that is used to equip armour and weapons, use spells, transfer items, save the game and check your parties status can fell cumbersome, but this is only because it is an early example of this type of RPG. Bioware was paving new ground, and although it is annoying by todays standards, much of it was innovative for the time.

The game and its expansion will keep a player busy for a very long time. I completed only a few of the extra quests from the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, but they were fun and very worthwhile if you are planning on getting everything you can out of the game world.

I must say, the game really made me feel like I missed out back in the day and that is a testament to how well it holds up today. Many will know that they recently released a "Enhanced Edition" which you can purchase on Steam, but the old version still has its charm. Regardless of what version you pick, this is a great game and deserves to be played by anyone who loves RPGs, classic video games, or is a fan of Bioware. Baldur's Gate gets a 8/10 from me.

]]>Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:27:14 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/07/16/baldurs-gate-a-review#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/03/23/the-classics
In my last post I mentioned I have had this hankerin' to play some of the classic old PC games that I missed out on in the mid to late 90s. At the time, I was a young man in high school and my gaming time was spent almost exclusively on console gaming as I really did not have a powerful computer... I did try to get into it - my cousin had a good computer and he would let me play games like Myst, Doom and Half life but he wasn't really into the RPGs so I totally missed out on them.
Now I have a plan. I have been thinking for a long time as to what game(s) I want to get into after I completed the Witcher 2 and The Last of Us and I have decided to run the gauntlet of the Dungeon and Dragon's RPGs that Bioware, Black Isle Studios and Obsidian Entertainment made... specifically my run will go as follows:

It's a lot. Probably at least a years worth of gaming. But this is the perfect time to do it. All of these games are located on GOG.com and go for about $10 each - I'm sure I can pick a few of them up on sale and when its all said and done it will likely cost the same as one new PS4 game. It will also allow the time to pass so that the new consoles come down in price and the next generation of outstanding games will be out... allowing me to pick up a bundle package on the systems I want. It will be a great way to pass the time and catch up on the classics I missed. I will be starting tonight with Baldur's Gate... pretty dope.

]]>Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:09:08 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/03/23/the-classics#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/03/09/ive-got-a-hankerinfor-some-old-school-gamin
There's a bunch of A-1, top notch games, that I have never played...and most of them are "old school." I missed out on PC gaming in the late 90s and early 2000s and as such, there are many games that I never got a chance to play. As I have become more and more into PC gaming, I find myself interested in going back and getting into these older games.

The ones on my mind right now are Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and the Dungeons and Dragons series of Balder's Gate, Icewind Dale and their sequels.

These games were, at the time of their release, considered masterpieces... and not only that, but they seem to have stood the test of time, with people even today giving praise to these games. Although I do not know too much about any of them, I have recently been compelled to download them and see what the fuss is about for myself... I feel I missed a big chuck of video game history and now may be the time to go back and enjoy the classics.

Its like reading a good book... like Moby Dick or The Time Machine... you kind of know what the story is about, you kind of know what to expect... but once you experience it for yourself, you are always glad you did and you tend to remember those experiences fondly.

Currently, I do not have a lot of games on my horizon as I wait for the last generation classics to fall in price and wait for the current generation to get some new top notch games added to its library. Now is the perfect time to spend some (very small amounts of) cash and get a taste of the best of the old school. Unless any of you readers tell me otherwise... it is very likely my next several blog posts will be about older, classic games...

Im pretty excited... the old school...and you know what they used to do in the old school...

I am Canadian, I love hockey, I love that I live in a country with seasons and I love that for awhile, the nights get cold... it snows, we sometimes have "Snow Days" where schools are cancelled and I used to love going outside and playing in the snow, flying down the hill in my GT Snow Racer. I used to love to go outside and play pond hockey... in fact, just outside my house there was this big hill and my Dad would take me and my brother out there with our GT Snow Racers and we would fight my Dad and tumble down the hill in the big deep snow... it was awesome. I have found memories of winter... after a nice summer I even look forward to it for awhile... but this year is killing me. Its killing my wife... its killing everyone. This has been the winter from hell...and I feel like it wont be over until I write about it... so here we go.
The winter started off good, as it were... you see I always like there to be snow on the ground for Christmas, and indeed there was, in fact I think I saw that the Weather Network reported that there has been snow on the ground since December 7th... which is a record... we are around 90 days now with snow constantly on the ground. It was snowy yes... but it wasn't until the extreme cold came in early January that I started to hate the winter. The end of the month saw an Ice Storm that had much of the Province without power over Christmas time... we were lucky and only lost power for a short while... but it made a huge mess... cost millions of dollars and most of the clean up hasn't happened yet because most of the debris is still buried under SNOW!
Very early in January we got the really cold air come through... this is not unusual for a Canadian winter, we typically get a couple weeks that fall to the -30 temperatures, but it is only for a few days... people go nuts and then it warms up... but this winter it never warmed up. It stayed cold. Its still cold. As I type this the temperature outside is in the -20s and its March 5th.... this is crazy.
All of January was cold... it reached -40 for a few days and all the while we have been pounded by snow... snow that keeps growing and growing because it never gets warm enough to melt. That same day it hit the peak cold of... I think -44, I hit a huge pot hole in the road and my tire exploded. I had to have the tire replaced and spent a good amount of time outside that night... it is a horrible thing to face that cold.
Every year my friends and I play in a pond hockey tournament that raises money for cancer research... its also an excellent excuse to drink lots of beer. This year we went up at the very start of February and even though it was horribly cold, the pond ice was a mess... when it gets extra cold the ice cracks and breaks and it made for a miserable event... we still drank lots of beer though. All of February was brutally cold too.
As the country has begged for relief, we instead start getting all of these stats about how its the coldest winter in at least 20 years and maybe even 60 years... we are given pictures of the Great Lakes frozen over completely, we are given reports that a "polar vortex" is keeping the temperature cold... and most recently we are told that we should not expect any spring like weather until sometime in mid March.
Because of the weather I have been in a prison in my own home... I rarely have ventured outside... its too cold, its too mean outside... my skin is so dry and I am horribly pale. I hate... this winter.
As I type this, snow is falling outside in big fluffy flakes.. the kind that look so beautiful in the glow of street lights... usually, I love that sight... the calm falling of snow can be very peaceful... but now it makes me angry... I do not want this any more.. I can't take this anymore... the weather is having an effect on my mood, my health, my life...it has to stop, it has to be over... no amount of scotch can help me through this anymore. DIE YOU HORRIBLE EVIL UNRELENTING WINTER!!!

Sooooo... I'm going to love this summer...if I make it.

2014's winter will go down as the worst in my life... I hope!

Make it End

]]>Tue, 04 Mar 2014 22:16:42 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/03/04/this-winter#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/01/23/neverwinter-my-early-thoughts
On a whim, I downloaded the Free to Play MMO Neverwinter a few weeks ago and here are my early thoughts...

For me, this game gives people who don't have the 4 hours of free time per night to enjoy the MMO experience. Neverwinter is a fast paced, WOW-ish MMO that provides a very satisfying combat system more akin to a action adventer game then an typical MMO interface. It is extremely easy to pick up and play and although there are complaints about the character models, overall the game has that epic high fantasy look that, I personally, love in a graphics engine.

What I think the game does very well is get you in, lets you enjoy either a PVP match or some solo questing content in 30 - 60 mins and gets you out with a very satisfied feeling. The story itself is very linear and there is even a "sparkel trail" that will lead you to the location you need to go, so the game does hold your hand a bit, which minorly takes away from the exploration element. However, if you can get past this, the game is actually very deep with some great lore, fully voiced quest givers and a very popluated playerbase.

Speaking of the story and lore, this is a Dungeons and Dragons property and anyone who knows whats what, knows that Neverwinter is the place to be. The story is a lot of fun and you always feel like you are doing something of meaning... not just killing 10 rats for some Mob you'll never remember or see again.

Now, importantly... this game is Free to Play... I have yet to spend one dollar on anything in the game, nor do I feel limited in any sense by not spending money... in fact, I have only recently learned how to obtain "pay for" items... and I am unconcerned with them for now. I am just enjoying the experience.

For what its worth, I can totally recommend this game to anyone in the MMO community... I think it gets bad reviews from those select few that love to blaze through MMO content and are never satisfied... but if you take it for what it is, this game will give you a huge amount of fun... for zero dollars.

]]>Thu, 23 Jan 2014 20:20:17 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/01/23/neverwinter-my-early-thoughts#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/01/02/gone-home-a-quick-review
Over the holiday's I thought I would give the indie game "Gone Home" a try. I began the game literally knowing nothing about it, I assumed it was a bit of a horror/mystery game so starting it up and heading into the empty house was a little creepy at first, especially when I checked the messages. As I went through the game it turns out to be a pretty interesting story and a nice little trip back to the good old days in the mid 90s.
The game is interesting as it was specifically designed to take place in the mid 90s because that was just before we started to get the technology to allow us to communicate all the time like we do today. If you came home unexpectedly back then and nobody was home, you would probably end up having to try to piece together what was going on, just like in the game. I really liked this aspect, but I wonder how someone who has grown up since 2000 will react to the game, I expect it would be very frustrating.
Overall, I liked the way the game told the story with clues and hidden messages throughout the house and I enjoyed the "secondary" stories of the main characters parents. It's is almost a new way to play a game... one that lets you experience things a little deeper than games generally allow. That said, you do get a sense of what's going on pretty quickly and after about an hour into it... you kind of know how things will likely turn out. For anyone who has not played this game, the story line will definitely be unexpected, but for me it was actually a bit of a let down (although that does not mean that it will not appeal to other players).
One thing I would say for sure is to wait for the game to go on sale before downloading it. I picked it up for about $7 in the steam sale and I would say that price is about as much as you would want to spend on it as the game can generally be beaten in about 3 hours and if you are a speed runner, I'm sure it could be finished in half an hour... and there's no replay value, other than maybe a few other hidden items that I missed.
For the new game experience I give Gone Home props, but overall I'm giving this game a 6.5 out of 10... its worth a look, but only if its on sale.
]]>Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:47:01 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/01/02/gone-home-a-quick-review#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/01/01/a-new-year
Yes, it is 2014.. today is the first day of a new year and although I rarely make resolutions, there are several that I wanted to make this year. I have been up against it in the last few years dealing with some grown up stuff, which I probably did not handle as best as I could have and so, I want to make some general improvements overall. This includes my fitness level, my work, time with my family, and financial improvements... none of them are overly hard, they simply require a better focus so that I can see some better returns.
I cannot say that I am sad to see 2013 go and because of it, I am really looking forward to 2014... there is some hard work ahead and some goals that I want to achieve but I believe if I can stay focused and make some better choices, by this time next year I will be writing about how outstanding 2014 truly was. Billy Zane once said "a real man makes his own luck" and those are wise words. Happy New Year, let's get er goin'.
]]>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 19:44:01 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2014/01/01/a-new-year#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/12/10/corruptionontario
I have an honours degree in Political Science and History. It's not a very helpful degree in the real world but I have a intense interest in both subjects. Although I ended up finding myself in a career in sales and project management, I have always thought that getting into politics would be an option for me at some point.
Over the years and as I have grown and watched the world change, I have finally become dismayed at what I am seeing in my once prosperous and growing province of Ontario. I have never spoken about my local politics on any kind of social level as there are so many moving parts that its tough to pass judgement most of the time... however, I have come to a point where I feel like the system that I live in, has become so broken and corrupt and lost that I need to say something as it is making me sick.
When I was younger, Ontario was the place to be in the great and vast country of Canada... there were jobs all over the place, people seemed generally happy with the booming economy, and the big thing I remember when I was a kid, was that teachers were unhappy... in fact they held a strike and it was great because we kids all got a week off from school.
Maybe it was that veneer of childhood (although I was a teenager) or maybe I just did not understand the political landscape of the times, but generally... I think people were happier... and it "felt" prosperous.
This will probably not make sense to anyone reading this in the US, but at the time... Ontario had a Conservative Government... and generally, in Canada, that means that they favour the Private Sector and do their best to encourage business to create jobs and try to limit unions etc. Now don't get me wrong, I understand the need and the importance of unions and fairness to workers... it is a very big deal... but I am now understanding that unions can also be a massive burden on a population.
About a decade ago, the Conservatives were removed from power and the Liberal government took over. They are more geared towards helping unions, increasing social services and typically, this means spending more than they bring in.
Around the time this new Liberal government took power, I was in my early twenties, and I will not lie, I voted for them. As time went by there really seemed to be no change in Ontario... but after a few years... cracks began to show and now.... in 2013 we are in a big mess.... I have never seen, such wasteful and blatant disregard for the tax payer.
Now perhaps this is because I have never been a tax payer, but when you grow up and you find out that a huge chunk of your pay is removed from you to pay for things like roads, and teachers and health care and electricity, you expect to see SOMETHING for what you pay for. But all I have seen is bullshit.

The Liberal government in Ontario is 100% bullshit. We had a guy name Dalton McGuinty running things who seemed, generally like a good dude in the beginning... however, his policies have really damaged our province and left us behind with regards to the rest of Canada. It all starts a few years ago during out last election, where the voters were divided on what party to vote for. In an effort to win votes, the Liberal government cancelled some gas plants in order to appease a couple of regions in the province that would ensure their win. They told us that this cancellation would cost only a few million dollars of tax dollars... a few years later we found out it actually cost over 1 billion of tax payers dollars..... that amount is completely insane. This is the money of people who work hard... raise families and pay tax on literally everything... all of it wasted.. to win an election for the select few.

Shortly before this was announced, Dalton...resigned... knowing before hand that shit was going to hit the fan. As we investigated this big waste of money... we found out that government officials were deleting emails (which has got to be totally illegal) and were literally obstructing justice. Dalton, our leader, told us he didn't know it was going on and had no idea that the cancellation of the gas plants was going to cost that much. There has been no repercussion to him or his party for the lies and cover up, Dalton now lives comfortably without a care in the world. After Dalton resigned, the Liberal party then elected a new official from within their ranks to run the country... this is completely undemocratic as the person WE THE PEOPLE elected is gone and no longer working for us... instead they brought in some lady who I have never heard of. THAT, is bullshit...

In the wake of the 2008 recession, myself and my family have had to deal with lost jobs, lost wages, decreased services and higher taxes and bills. Thankfully, we have weathered the storm but it has set me back a ways and I have been working hard to catch up, in fact.. I worked an entire year without pay to help grow a company I started which should have been successful under Ontario's Green Energy Plan, a Liberal program designed to grow the province's renewable energy sector. Despite an innovative and proven product, my company was denied all the grants/incentives the government said would be provided. Instead, billions of dollars where used to buy wind power from Samsung, a foreign company with zero Canadian workers. Without the government's assistance, we were forced to shut down the company, along with many other renewable start ups in the province. Jobs were lost instead of created and I have since had to go back to my old job in order to make ends meet. Similar stories are found all throughout the province with people being mislead and let down by the government.

While all these problems with the economy was happening... our government paid teachers went on strike... teachers in this province already make extremely good salaries, but... at a time when there's was a global recession they wanted a raise. Dalton... said no... although he gave them great benefits earlier, it was simply too much to ask to give more to teachers as Ontario was now in massive debt. So the government put a freeze on teachers wages, simply put... they would make the same amount of money they had been making for the next few years, no raises. But the teachers decided to strike anyway, and the government forced them back to work as they are an essential service... teachers then stopped any extra curricular activities outside of the school, in essence, making the province's children and parents suffer, so they could get more money. Gone, were school sports teams, dances, clubs and many other extremely meaningful programs that are super important to today's youth.

It was at this point that Dalton resigned and Ms. Wynn came into power... she "solved" the problem by giving the teachers a raise. I'm going to say this... teaching is not an easy job, it demands a good pay... but they get summers off... teachers in Ontario get approximately $40K to start.... $70K after a few years... and most teachers at the end of their work lives are making near or over $100K... ON TOP OF 2 MONTHS OFF, VACATION (March Break, Christmas, Exam Breaks) AND SICK DAYS (up to 20 days per year... and BANKABLE!)... ...guys like me who make $50k a year (plus commission) are the guys who pay for their salary... and guess how many kids I have.... ZERO. The fact that a public paid servant can have their salaries increase in a recession, while the provincial debt skyrockets is completely unjust. But one thing is for sure... teachers always vote Liberal and its a big reason why they have been in power for so long.

Last week were were told by our government, was that our electricity bills would be going up by nearly 50% over the next 4 years... how can this be? I, along with most other Ontario residents conserve as much as we can... but somehow... our bills are going up big time... they blame this on the gas plants, but we found out that our bills will only really increase by $2/month for the gas plants. So why the huge increase to the cost of electricity?.....Today it was explained that the OPG (ONTARIO POWER GENERATION) was giving massive bonuses and huge salaries/pensions to its employees who were just raping the tax payers... these public sector workers got perks like you wouldn't believe... image this... your job paid you to move closer to it as a incentive to live nearby.. but instead you used this incentive to buy a new house FURTHER away....this is one example that cost the tax payer $80k..unreal. The OPG has a large amount of executives that all hire from within their families, most of the employees are married or related. Their payment structure has a very generous salary (over $100k per year) plus several bonus incentives that top these executives up to annual take home incomes of around $400k. Even the standard workers are able to earn "Overtime" pay, which allows them to earn over $50k on top of their salaries. Remember, this is every worker at the OPG...thousands of workers, who are paid by tax dollars from the Ontario people.

This exploitation of the Ontario tax payer is furthered by the fact that for every dollar that an OPG employee pays into their pension, they also put in FIVE dollars of tax payer money. This will allow some of the top executives to have an annual pension of over $700k each year when they retire at age 65....Seven, hundred, thousand, dollars, per, year, to one person. After this news came out, three top executives were fired, but who knows what the severance pay will be and what that will cost the tax payer... and it was only three executives, I guess the other hundred are doing such a good job that they can stay and reap the rewards.

I am so mad at this government.. businesses in this province are closing...people are losing jobs... tax payers are pushed to their limit they and the government is constantly asking for more... its a broken, greedy, corrupt, terrible system and there seems to be no justice... no repercussion. I honestly do not know who to vote for and may have to consider moving away from this place that was once so prosperous. I have in the past trusted our elected officials and thought maybe one day to be one. I have always believed that most people are typically good and want to help others, but I am not so sure that is the case anymore.... I have lost my faith in government... and maybe people too. My effort will now be to get in touch with my local MPP and see what I can do to stop this downward spiral for this province, the corrupt Ontario.

It's no secret that The Last of Us has been praised as one of the best games this year. In fact, many will rank this game highest of this entire console generation and I personally cannot deny that this game should be in the conversation. The Last of Us is a remarkable game in the sense that it does so many things so well that it simply allows you to play the game and enjoy the story (and it's a damn good one). My one complaint of the game is that, at times, I did feel like I was playing Uncharted 4 as I solved area puzzles, but overall this game delivers on all levels.

The game begins in the present day just as a bunch of poop is hitting the fan - namely, a illness is spreading across human-kind and it causes people to become extremely violent and grow fungus from their bodies, thus infecting others. Our hero, (or anti hero) is Joel, who at the beginning of the game is forced to flee his home with his daughter and brother. As they try to make their way to safety, hundred of people chase and attack and by the end of the sequence, we see the beginning of how Joel becomes a hardened, cold survivor in a world gone nuts.

Speaking of a world gone nuts, the game picks up 20 years later and the world is a much different place. Humanity is in shambles, but some organization still remains within city quarantine zones and small pockets of society across the United States. Joel now resides in Boston and we quickly learn that he takes part in some shady dealings in order to survive. In this new world, Joel must survive against not only military and bandits, but also against "the infected", people who have gotten sick (some for many years) and have mutated into sightless zombie like creatures that are mindless and violent towards any sounds they hear.

As we follow Joel's story, we learn very early on that he will do what it takes to survive, he kills without remorse, scavenges for food and weapons and only takes on dangerous tasks for his own personal gain. The game presents Joel as a man who has dealt with tremendous hardships over his life and has learned that to survive in this world, you must kill and move on. The game does a good job at making you aware that any weakness in this world will likely result in your demise or at the very least put you in a terrible situation.

Thus, after a brief period of running through the city to make a trade with the resistance group "The Fireflies", Joel meets Ellie, a young girl who has been infected, but is immune to the disease, which means she holds the key to a cure. Because of some bad luck, Joel end's up with the task of bring Ellie across the country to the Fireflies lab to create a cure. It is here where the narrative shines and the evolving relationship between Joel and Ellie is the cornerstone of this game. Joel initially views Ellie as no more than a package that needs to be delivered but ends up regarding her as a daughter. This type of story is nothing new, but it has rarely been executed so convincingly in any media, let alone video games.

As Joel and Ellie trek across the country they meet enemies and allies alike and what is most interesting about the game is how well it works with computer controlled characters on the screen. You almost never see them doing something stupid or getting you in over your head and the fact that you really don't notice this is a part of what makes The Last of Us so great. Indeed, this game removes the little problems/points of frustration that are present in most video games and simply lets you focus on the story and your path through it. There are genuinely scary, funny, touching and gut wrenching moments in this game that actually left me with that feeling in my stomach that is so hard to create in movies and gaming. You really care about these people and this world and that is something special.

The gameplay typically has Joel and Ellie avoiding enemies and taking them out with either stealth or full out carnage. It creates a element of heightened tension as your enemies are searching for you and the realism in the combat is some of the best you will find. One small complaint is that you cannot simply stealth your way through the areas without killing people. To progress from one section to another, all enemies must be killed and this took away some of the realism for me. Because if this were the real world, I would certainly rather attempt to quietly slip away rather than kill the 20 or so people in my way.

The game has a very controversial ending and one which I don't know if I like or dislike, but its the ending that the game wanted to tell and I give Naughty Dog a lot of credit for it since I'm sure it could not have been an easy decision. The end speaks to the world that Joel now lives in and his ability to change... even if it is not for the overall good of mankind. Although I do not believe that this is the perfect game, I do think it is one that must be played by anybody over the age of 16. The Last of Us has a final and lasting message for now and especially for the next generation of games and that is, games can be more than just fun, they can be thought provoking and give people experiences that far exceed what normal forms of entertainment can provide. Hopefully, the next generation of games for the new systems will recognize this and deliver.

The Last of Us gets a 9.7 out of 10.

]]>Sun, 17 Nov 2013 20:25:44 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/11/17/the-last-of-us-review#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/07/16/a-review-the-witcher-2
As of Sunday, I no longer get to play the Witcher series for a while... and I am a little sad about this. I finally finished The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings and with this completion, I will take a break from Geralt's adventures but it has been one hell of a ride. The Witcher has become one of my favourite characters and stories in my sizable video game career.
As I mentioned in a previous post, it took me three tries before I finally got into the first game of the series. But once I started to understand how deep and interesting the world was, I found a world that was both beautiful yet terrifying and completely awesome. The Witcher 2 takes everything from the first game, refines it, expands it and completely delivers a fresh RPG experience that has very few rivals.
The Witcher 2 takes place shortly after the events of the first game and the overall polish and improved design of the game over the original is immediately noticeable. The overarching story of the Witcher 2 is that someone is killing the kings of the Northern territories and although Geralt tries to protect King Foltest of Temeria, he too is slain and Geralt is framed as the killer. Thus, Geralt must travel the land trying to clear his name and track down the real killers and he also takes some time to hunt monsters, deal with political matters and sample the sweet, sweet women of the world.
What is both a refreshing change and a frustrating irritant is the aforementioned political background that plays out while Geralt completes his quest. The game is refreshing in the sense that it never holds your hand and has a very interesting and detailed background which fills the game with life and gives you a sense that Geralt is but a small piece in an ever moving game of chess. However, the game suffers slightly because of the multitude of characters, alliances and ongoing political saga that at times is very difficult to follow. There is a nice Journal tab that helps to give some background to every person you meet in your travels as well as details on your quests and locations, but I found myself needing to study up from time to time just to figure out what the heck someone was talking about in several important conversations.
Although the world that the game takes place in is vast, Geralt really only visits a few areas, but thanks to the progressing story, things always seem fresh and interesting and you never feel like you are just running from point A to B, you actually feel like you are walking through a village that is lived in and has people going about their daily lives or that you are hunting monsters in a deep, old forest. The atmosphere in the game is outstanding, it is gritty, believable and the attention to detail in the design is remarkable, the game is hands down one of the best looking video games ever made.
The battle system has been changed from the first game to the second and I think it works very well. It does take some getting used to and in the beginning you will likely die many times due to some accidental press of the wrong button at the wrong time, but it is something that can be mastered and in some ways reminds me of the Ninja Gadien games with the required dodging and various weapons of attack.
I played the Witcher 2 right after beating the first game and I have never done that before in my video game life, so its a testament to this series that it could keep me so interested for well over 100 hours of gameplay and leave me wanting more when its all said and done. Thankfully, it looks like I will not need to wait too long to return to this world, as the Witcher 3 is coming soon. For anyone out there reading this, if you have not played this game or the first, you really should, its these types of games that is moving video games into the next generation. This game is at the top of its class. Also, its probably like $4 on Steam right now... buy it....buy it now.
]]>Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:42:05 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/07/16/a-review-the-witcher-2#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/06/26/minecraft
So Minecraft recently hit the 11 million sold mark. Unreal. In fact, it hit 10 million in April and then 11 million this month.... I was one of those people who bought it between April and the month of Now. Let me tell you, this game is a drug.
Up until I bought the game, I had been playing the Witcher 2, which is perhaps the most deep and interesting game I have played in years (I'm am tempted to put it ahead of the Mass Effect series as my favourite of all time)... YET... Minecraft has managed to eat up all of my time recently. I'm not even doing anything really cool in the game either. My goal at the moment is simply to try to build a close replica of my real life home... and it has taken weeks.
The way the game gets you is in the material gathering, you see... my house is made of bricks... so to get bricks I need to first get clay... and then I need to cook the clay to make one brick, but to cook the clay I need coal, but to use coal to cook I need a furnace, but to make a furnace I need stone, but to harvest stone I need a pickax, but to make a pickax I need wood and to get wood I need to kill a tree with my bare hands... and so you get the picture. To do what appears to be a simple task, actually takes a lot of planning and farming... and there is no time limit, there no real stress or points or anything... its just... I want to build, I need to collect items and somehow... its fun!
Not only have I been loving this game but inspired by a friend of mine who has put up some really awesome Minecraft videos, I have been making some videos of my own. They aren't very good as I am a massive noob, but its been a very cool experience and I like watching my videos a few days later to see my progress and see the mistakes or challenges I had earlier in the development of my world. It is such a simple idea but it works on so many levels... Minecraft may live on... forever. Very cool game. Your world awaits.....But man I don't like the drugs but the drugs like me....

]]>Wed, 26 Jun 2013 21:46:54 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/06/26/minecraft#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/06/24/when-the-levee-breaks
So I have been a casual fan of Led Zeppelin for some time now... but it was not until the recent weeks that I discovered perhaps what I deem to be the most interesting and best song by this band. "When the Levee Breaks" .

Now I looked up this song because for the past 2 months all it has done is rain. And the good people in Calgary Alberta are getting nailed by flooding. Obviously, this song is probably not a favourite for those that got nailed in New Orleans... or pretty much anywhere else that has been flooded. But the distress these people feel is pretty much what this song is about... which makes it all that more interesting. You see... its not even a Zeppelin song.

The song was originally done by some guy named Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie... in 1929. Led Zeppelin covered it... but really only the lyrics are the same. The beat and rifts that Zeppelin put down were all original. What I love about this song is that it is such a classic Blues song. On paper, its about thinking that if this one thing breaks, then I am screwed.... its about counting on one thing and if that fails... you are in trouble. Which is timeless....

We are all counting on maybe just one thing being OK otherwise we are screwed. Things they talk about in the Great Depression remain relevant today. It is both cool... and a little depressing. But man is it a good track. Zeppelin rarely played it live because the track was so fiddled with. The famous drum beat was actually done in a hallway/stairwell to get the echo effect and then it was slowed down to give it the deep feel it has. Very cool... parts of the song are actually done in reverse and that makes it almost unplayable live. It is kinda like the first ever NIN song... where most of the music was made in a lab.

To me the song is about putting your faith in something... preparing for the worst... but having hope... and my friends, hope is really all we have. Great tune.

]]>Mon, 24 Jun 2013 22:00:39 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/06/24/when-the-levee-breaks#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/05/01/the-coming-supernova
A star is about to explode... you have probably seen it a million times. Its name is Betelgeuse (pronounced Beatlejuice) and its a HUGE star in the constellation of Orion. Orion is one of the most recognizable features in the night sky and Betelgeuse is the bright reddy orange star at the upper left of the constellation.

The star itself is red super giant and if it were in the same spot as our sun... it would extend almost to the orbit Jupiter. Because it is so easily observable, it has been documented literally for thousands of years. But it looks like something is about to go nuts with this massive star.

We expect that this star will be going supernova soon... any day now. In fact, Betelgeuse is very old for a star of its type... its literally on borrowed time. And when it blows, it will be thing to see... and trust me... if and when it does you wont be able to ignore it if you tried.

Although Betelgeuse is easy to see in our sky, its actually really REALLY far away... 640 light years to be exact. That means that we are seeing Betelgeuse as it looked 640 years ago... that said... there have been some interesting new observations...Betelgeuse has been seen to have a huge bulge on on one of its side and shedding layers of its outside core... all these indicate that it is ready to blow...its about to go supernova.

Now Betelgeuse has probably already blown up... but just a little bit less than 640 years ago... since it takes light that long to get here. Now lets pretend it blew up and went supernova 659 years, 363 days ago... a little late tomorrow... you would see a new bright star in the sky... IN THE DAY TIME where Betelgeuse used to be. The star is so big and the explosion would be so huge it will be like having a second moon in our night sky... and will be visible in the daylight for at least 3 months. It will be an unprecedented event so massive that the whole world will have no choice but to take note.

For 3 months we will have a second moon... and our night sky will be changed forever, because after the light of the explosion fades... that star is gone. This is it... our coming supernova and probably the biggest event (on a universal scale we will ever live to see)....

"Cause I heard it in the wind... and I saw it in the sky... I thought it was the end... I thought it was the 4th of July" - Soundgarden

]]>Wed, 01 May 2013 20:47:21 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/05/01/the-coming-supernova#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/03/02/the-witcher-review
As this current video game generation comes to an end, I have found myself looking back on some of the notable games that I missed along the way. The Witcher was perhaps the most interesting of the bunch... I knew it was highly praised and the sequel was even better so when it went on sale on Steam I bought it and downloaded it and gave it a shot.
I did not enjoy this game right away, the controls seemed chunky too me at first and the story moved so quickly at the beginning that I had trouble understanding what was going on and why. The game somewhat assumes that you are already well aware of this world, its citizens and how it all ties together and I ended up letting the game collect dust for quiet awhile before I gave it another try.
Once I gave it another go through and took the time to learn the controls and the games features I found it more and more enjoyable. You control Geralt, a genetically "enhanced" human called a Witcher. Witchers are skilled fighters that generally hunt and kill monsters for money. The game opens with a cut scene of Geralt battling a monster and then we find him running through the forest and passing out... waking up and not remembering much about himself or what he does. Just as Geralt is beginning to recover, the Witcher's castle is attacked and their knowledge of mutagens is stolen by some previously unknown gang of bandits called The Salamandra. Thus, Geralt begins a quest to hunt these bad dudes down and figure out why they attacked in the first place.
Most of the game takes place in the city of Visima, and what I really liked was the authentic look and feel the game gives to a Medieval city.... yes the story is based on fantasy and has magic and monsters etc, but it also has some outstanding realism to it. The whole world is a very gritty and believable place. It gives a sense that things really do not revolve around Geralt but rather, he is a small side story in a much larger and ongoing conflict.
The game itself is pretty long, and took me around 70 hours to complete but I did finish most of the side quests and if you don't use a cheat guide, you can spend a huge amount of time running around turning in quests. This began to grind on me after awhile but all of the side quests are generally memorable and can result in some nice upgrades or perks. I am not sure if the game is overly long or if it was just made to feel that way by me running around handing in quests but by the 50th hour or so, I just wanted to finish the game.
Thankfully, the main story line is quiet good and gets better as the game progresses. Yes, you do need to fill in a few holes with your own ideas, but overall the story is great and most importantly, it gives an awesome ending.
I am really glad I went back to check out this game. Its a really well done RPG that is much more grown up than most entries into the genre and it is just a lot of fun to play. There are a few minor issues with the game, but I assume most of these have been dealt with in the Witcher 2... which Im onto next. This game gets a 8.5/10 from me.
]]>Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:34:12 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2013/03/02/the-witcher-review#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/11/22/mars-has-a-secret

More than Red Rocks...yeah yeah

Last August, I stayed up late with my brother, drinking a few beers and watching NASA land a rover on Mars. It was pretty awesome. I am sure it was nothing like seeing the moon landing but it was very cool, especially to see the joy and relief on the faces of the people in mission control. Those men and women were all cheering for Curiosity, the largest, most expensive and coolest rover ever sent to Mars. The rover is so big it required a completely new way of landing on the planet...the so called "7 Minutes of Terror." During this time, the spacecraft used Mars' atmosphere to slow down a bit, then released a special parachute that was able to withstand the extreme speeds and not tear away, it then essentially let the rover bungee jump down as it detached from the spacecraft, then finally fired more rockets just before touching the ground to ensure a soft landing and make sure the spacecraft itself did not land on top of the rover... AMAZING.
So now, over the past 3 months or so, the rover has been taking tests and driving around on the planet... it has discovered a few things but nothing major league... until now.... and its a SECRET!
NASA has announced the Curiosity has found something. Something "historic" and because this is such a big deal they are double checking and triple checking their data to ensure it is correct. Thus, we on this planet need to wait.
NASA plans on giving us the news this Dec 3 - 7 during a scientific conference, which gives us lots of time to speculate what it could be. I for one, believe they have found undeniable evidence of past life on Mars, which would be such an amazing find. It would prove, for the first time, that life had survived somewhere else in the universe and as such, means that we are not alone out here and that makes the world both a less scary and more scary place.
Regardless, this story has me fascinated and I am looking forward to finding out this new secret from the red planet... maybe we are about to meet or ancient neighbours and we were actually the ones that were late to the party. Very cool stuff. Keep watching the stars.

Here is a link to the article: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412380,00.asp

I am a MMO junkie.... I love the idea of online worlds with countless players interacting with one another at all times. I was completely blown away when I tried World of Warcraft and although I take random breaks from it, I still find myself playing it quite a bit. I absolutely love Lord of the Rings Online, as the Turbine folks have really brought Middle Earth to life and since they are my favourite books, its great to be able to long into that world (for free no less).
But one game has always interested me and I have never been able to get into it... that game is EVE Online. I LOVE the concept... a huge sandbox world, where you really do make your own story... a vast array of ships, skills, corporations and intrigue. I always imagine myself being some kind of double agent, in the game (if I played it)... pulling off one of the huge heists you sometimes hear about in the news.
Although I have tried the free trial (twice), I have yet to purchase any real game time. The game has a steep learning curve (which I like) and it also has a lot of understanding that you need to be uber successful (which I also like)... but I just havent been able to bring myself to pay to play the game. But now a days, I think I may just give it a go. I currently have been subscribing to WoW again and although I love the new content, I really don't know how much longer it can sustain me. So I may switch out my WoW subscription for EVE Online. Anyone out there had any good or bad experiences with this game? Do you guys think its worth the monthly fee? If you did and you read this post all the way through... let me know your thoughts. Maybe its time to head into the universe of EVE for real....

]]>Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:36:57 -0800Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/11/19/i-have-really-been-thinking-about-getting-into-eve-online#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/10/31/my-new-new-barn-and-what-comes
A few years ago I wrote a post on this very blog about "My New Barn." I say the word "Barn" as a funny word for my house...I have owned my current house for 4 years and 11 days.... and in 30 more days, my house will no longer be mine. I am moving on to a new bigger, nicer house and this is a super good thing.
But I cannot leave this house without a little bit of sadness. I mean, when we bought this house, my wife and I weren't even married yet.... we literally had nothing, we bought the cheapest house in the entire town... but we were so proud to have it... even if it was the most outdated house ever and had SO much work that needed to be done.
Over the years we have done a lot of work on the house... we completely changed the backyard, adding a patio, multiple trees, new areas of lawn, etc. We finished the basement, which was a huge undertaking. We painted most of the rooms, bought TVs, furniture, a new front door, and put in a brand new bathroom on the main floor. We spent all this time, making this house, ours... and now that it is... we are leaving.
We really were not in the market for a new house but an opportunity presented itself and oddly enough that opportunity lead to another opportunity, which has resulted in a bit of dream home senario for my wife and I. AND YES... we bought a house that is on the limit of what we can afford... but this is the dream house to live in forever and I am so excited. I cannot wait to move in.
But I will always and forever look back at this house and have amazing memories... it is the place that we got our start... that we raised... a cat.... the house that tought me how to live on my own and be a husband. I will miss it.
I am glad that a new young couple is moving in... It has been funny because we have seen them driving slowly by our house just looking at it... similar to how my wife and I were when we first bought it (and how we are with our new house).
Real Estate is a weird process and you really do not get to know the people who have decided to move into the house you put so much love and effort into, but I wish them the best of luck and I hope they enjoy the house as much as my wife and I had. And to the house.... I say thank you, you have earned a special spot in my heart and brought me from my scared younger years, to my scared, slightly older than younger years. Long live 50 Carrington Court.
]]>Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:53:34 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/10/31/my-new-new-barn-and-what-comes#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/10/03/cheers-to-my-20s
In about 9 hours I will officially turn 30. Unreal. My 20s have by far been the best decade of my life and have seen the most change in my life... mostly for the better. I have "grown up" in a sense. I own a house, with the love of my life. I married a girl that I never could have imagined I would get to be with when I was in my teenage years. I have seen most of my country (which in Canada isn't that easy to do), I have gone to Europe and to various places in the USA and even the tropics last year to Barbados.

Things are much different now than when I was 20 and about 95% of those changes are for the better, but I still think I am mostly the same guy I was when I was younger. The next 10 years will probably have just as much change as the last 10, but I am very happy to be where I am at this point in my life.... and things are already moving towards new great change. We just bought a new house, I am very hopeful for a new job (with better pay) and my wife is back to school to make our lives better in the next few years... soon... (hopefully) we will be all set and settled in our life together and the next 10, 20, FOREVER years will be awesome.

For now though... I look back on my 20s with fondness and a touch of melancholy. See you later 20s. Hello 30s. Lets do this thing.

]]>Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:25:46 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/10/03/cheers-to-my-20s#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/08/27/a-feelingnice-and-in-my-head
Sometimes I get a feeling... a warm, fuzzy feeling in the back of my head. It is a very very nice feeling... its not anything sexual or due to intoxication of any kind... its just this tingling feeling that kind of moves and crawls across my head.
I have had this feeling from around the age of 14 and it comes from watching someone explain something in detail or watching someone paint a picture or draw a painting. Videos of people explaining things with a pointer really set this feeling off.
This feeling makes my eyelids sink and my heart rate slow and makes me feel really good. I have looked over the internet and there are various blogs, forums, etc. on this topic and everyone who has it is always looking for ways to reproduce it naturally and constantly and it appears that it cannot be done. I remember there was one History teacher I had in grade 9 that really produced this feeling all the time... but now I find that there are some videos on youtube that can produce this feeling. Its a very relaxed state that seems to come in waves... that is, it builds in intensity. It is like living in a waking dream that makes you happy and calm and sometimes I feel like I can control it (for example there are some youtube videos that seem to set this feeling off every time I watch them) and there are other times when I will watch the same youtube videos and not get the same "full" sensation.
I wont lie. Its weird and awesome at the same time. Any of you guys feel this way sometime? What are some of the videos/things that trigger this feeling... I for one know its haircuts and this guy (who is crazy and awesome at the same time... his ideas are both kind of interesting and completely unobtainable because they make no scientific sense).

]]>Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:52:41 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/08/27/a-feelingnice-and-in-my-head#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/08/22/how-to-save-the-world
My friends, the world is a mess. Many of us are lucky, because we were born in a certain spot on the planet or because we come from a good or wealthy family. But while things are "good" for us, they are far far worse for others in the world. Many who are so very close to us. In any city, we find poverty, starvation, crime, drugs and human suffering. Sadly, we are brought up to fight for everything we have, be that land, money, food, water, it matters not. Wars are fought all over the world for various resources, the main one these days being oil, but soon it could simply be over water. We, as a global community, are kept down by the ultra rich and those that only want profit and personal gain.
When we are born, we are not born with greed or lust for power. Instead, these things are learned by us over time because of the culture in which we live. Because of this we have designed a world that is so far below what we as humans can achieve.... we are failing ourselves... and in time, we may just destroy ourselves in the process.

But there is a way to achieve greatness... to become an ideal world with a purpose and with a vision. It comes down to what you believe is in the human soul... there will always be bad eggs, but I personally believe that most people are inherently good and want to live a life full of purpose and meaning. If this is the case... then we can lift ourselves to become... what we were born to be.

Right now, all over the world, there are vast armies in every country... the first step is to stop spending money on training them to kill and shoot guns... instead, train them in people relations and culture (in every country). Train them in how to be accepting and friendly, train them in how to deal with religion, with why people in some parts of the world think a different way and how hold human life as the utmost of importance. All of a sudden all the armies on earth go from violence to caring.

Of course, we know that hungry people will not stay hungry for long and will fight,kill and destroy to eat... the truth of the matter is the planet can easily feed every single person on it many times over. The problem is those countries with lots of food tend to keep it for themselves.... it has been estimated that the USA throws away HALF of all the food it produces. A system could be put in place that distributes food and water to the places that need it so that everywhere on the planet, we have enough to eat and drink without the worry of starvation. If we were to share the resources of the world all over, and we had no wars over resources, the need for countries in general would disappear. We would have a global network to help every human maintain a high standard of living.

The number one thing that needs to be done is raise the youth in a culture that does not teach them to want to have a bigger house than the next person and make decisions that will benefit themselves while hurting other. The message has to be to grow as a planet, and species. It has to be about caring and the betterment of humanity. Our system (generally) teaches this in North America and many of our youth start out with these ideas, but once they get into the real world they learn quickly about corruption and greed and decide they must find away to keep a piece of the action for themselves. It is this culture that must be removed... people must stop worrying about taking care of their own needs. If we can live in a world that does not have a fear of war and of not having enough food to feed your family, we can then move up in the standard of living. People can stop going to meaningless jobs to do what they really want. To live a fulfilling life.

If we were to live in such a world without boarders, without war and without hunger, then we could start to fully become human. Right now we have the technology to build things that a fully recyclable, we can use renewable energy to power the entire earth, we can build amazing cities, save the environment, and get smarter and better as we do it. Imagine you had 10,000 students graduating from high school and all of them had no worries about paying for secondary education, or getting a good job to pay for a big house... suppose they could live in a big house anywhere in the world that they wanted... and it didn't matter what they did. People, then could do whatever they want. Maybe 500 of those kids simply decided they didnt want to do anything.... some weed, drink beer and get fat.... No problem. Enjoy yourselves and do your thing. But maybe 900 of those kids were interested in curing cancer... so they go off to a FREE school that teaches them what we know about cancer and they can all give each other ideas on how to cure it and how to make treatments better... In our current world many of those 900 kids that wanted to try to cure cancer, never got a chance to go to secondary school... they had to get a job to pay bills and feed a family... we are currently holding ourselves back.

All in all, we are currently held down by governments, banks and large corporations. Because profit and advantage are goals in this world we will never be able to grow. The super rich will continue to get richer until revolt happens. The standard system now is to keep "regular" people in a state of always needing to work to live... we are held down and I know there is a feeling in so many of us that we are not fulfilling our lives. If everything were free and I could do whatever I wanted knowing I would always have food, always have a home, I would be involved in the space program in some way. I would be learning as much as I could to learn more about how our universe started and how we can explore it better.... instead, I sell signs at Fast Signs Burlington Ontario.

We could design amazing cities that are built not on where some person started a town 300 years ago, but built in an area that has a lot of resources and can be renewed. We could get rid of money entirely and do anything that we set our mind to. There are so many roadblocks to becoming everything we were born to be.... its time we looked at doing things a different way. The road we are on is dangerous and if we believe that most people are good, and want to live a meaningful life... then this is something to think about. My blog is inspired by "THE VENUS PROJECT" Please check out this video on how to save the world.

I have not played World of Warcraft in one year and six months. I spent the good part of that time, not really thinking about the game or following its updates online, although every once and awhile I would give some of the old WoW websites a read through. In the past few months however, I have been delving deeper into the information on the upcoming expansion - Mysts of Panderia and....my friends.... I believe it is time for a return. My level 85 Rogue Rednorth is sharpening his knifes and is ready to come out of retirement.

With just over a month until the release of Mysts, I have given some major time to previewing the new expansions and the changes it has made to the game. From what I see, the game looks like it may just be able to capture a bit of the magic that made WoW so special in the first place. There is a brand new landmass to explore, unlike in Cataclysm when we simply saw some reworked zones and some new areas in the old world. Everything about this expansion is "new" and in being such, will (hopefully) deliver the sense of exploration and discover that I enjoy so much.

The new race of Pandera is not my favourite thing, however the art direction that they have for the expansion appeals to me greatly. I love the ancient Asian influences and designs. There has always been something about the old Asian cultures that gives me a sense of mystery and, if I work hard enough, the chance to gain wisdom and perhaps even inner peace. It is this design and the stories that will be mixed into that really excites me.

Another part about the game that I like is that for the first time in awhile, it is like we are now writing the history of Azeroth, and no longer dealing with enemies we have seen before. For the first time, there really isn't a central bad guy to defeat, we have managed to deal with most of the evil characters for the old strategy games and now its time for something new. What that "something" is, we don't know yet and it is in the not knowing that makes this expansion intriguing to me. Perhaps everyone does not feel the same way but I find that not knowing whats going to happen yet or who we need to battle gives more incentive to keep moving forward through the game and grinding away at the levels and gear. In Cata, I found myself at the level cap, with a bunch of zones unfinished and looking at the long tiresome grind to defeat Deathwing. This daunting task of going through it all really didn't appeal to me because I didn't care about Deathwing. But now I don't know what is coming around the corner yet.... and I like that.

There are many other multiple tweaks to the game that make it look like it can be great fun again. I plan on renewing my subscription on August 25th, to give me one full month to get back into the swing of things before the new game comes out. For the first time in a long time I am really excited to play WoW.... just when I thought I was out... it pulls me back in.

]]>Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:51:09 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/08/14/coming-out-of-retirement-rednorths-return-to-world-of-warcraft#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/07/30/7-minutes-of-terror-write-this-down-mars-bitches
Although the title of this blog is immature and stolen from a Dave Chappelle sketch, Mars remains one of my many major fascinations. Its a nearby planet that may harbour life... or at least used to have life and it could be a place (and probably will be a place) that humans someday live on.
On August 5th a new rover called Curiosity will be landing on the planet. The rover is not like the other solar powered small rovers that made some great discoveries on the planet. Instead, this rover is the size of a jeep, powered by plutonium it will drive around the planet without the need to slow down and gather solar power. But because it is so big and powerful, the landing has to be completely different than what has been done in the past.

This landing, in my opinion, will be the most remarkable achievement by human beings EVER (if it succeeds). The landing is so utterly complex, it boggles the mind. Recently, NASA released a video called "7 Minutes of Terror" which shows just what will happen when the spacecraft begins its decent onto Mars. Enjoy... and long live space travel... its cool as hell.

P.S. I aint stoppin at the Moon....

]]>Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:21:31 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/07/30/7-minutes-of-terror-write-this-down-mars-bitches#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/06/25/is-the-media-killing-blackberry
Blackberry is bleeding. Every day there seems to be 10 more negative news stories about the troubled company. People are switching over to iphones and android devices faster than Blackberry can make the needed changes to its OS to deliver a similar product. I cannot help but think that maybe, just a little bit, this whole disaster is being fueled by the media which I have found loves to dwell on pain and suffering rather than the good news.
When I roll over to Google news there is probably only 1 story out of 10 that is positive... this is redonk. The biggest stories are always the baddest...ie: Global Warming is out of control... Blackberry is falling apart.... the Market is crumbling... 50 killed in a bombing.... come on man! Sure there's lots of bad stuff that goes on in the world but there is lots of great stuff too.
There have been great breakthroughs recently in the health sector, which will lead to longer, happier lives for everyone. People every day beat cancer and raise money for amazing causes. There are countless stories out there about how a group of people has made a safe habitat for animals to live and given food and water to an impoverished area saving countless lives. Where are these stories? Why does the new only dwell on the bad? It does no good for anyone.
Think about it... lets say you were the owner of RIM right now. You know your company is making money every year, you know your phones are a bit outdated but you are working on addressing that with the upcoming Blackberry 10 devices and every single day, there is a new story in the paper or online or written in a blog about how you are done. Millions of people read these stories and say "Oh... ok, Im buying an iphone instead." I would lose my mind.
I love trying to stay up with current events... I find myself drawn more to the science section of the news these days because there is always progress, something new and interesting. Whereas the World news is just death and corruption and the business news is just about how bad everything is doing except for Apple and Microsoft.
I hope you are happy media.... you killed a great company. RIP RIM

Sorry RIM... the Media needed a story...

]]>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:40:49 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/06/25/is-the-media-killing-blackberry#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/06/24/uncharted-3-drakes-deception-review
Uncharted.... a great series, one of the best in this current generation and maybe of all time. I was late to the party (I did not play the first Uncharted until well after the second game was released) but I recently just finished up the third and final game. Uncharted 3 is a really good game, but it is not my favourite of the series... in fact, I think it is my least favourite.

The game takes place a short amount of time after the end of the second game and this time, Drake is back looking for the treasure of his old relative Sir Francis Drake. This sort of picks up the pieces of where the first game ended and I was at first, pretty pleased with the mystery behind the story. Sadly, I found the story does not do a very good job at creating the sense of discovery and wonder as the series did in the previous games (although there are moments where the game is awesome, just not quiet enough). Instead, the story is such a cliche of Indian Jone's movies that it can almost be laughable.

These "Indian Jones" moments include the following make it seem like the writers of the story took some shortcuts in order to get the game out the door a little faster than fully developing a more unique story. It's not that the story is bad, it just left me with a feeling like "I have seen this before." This is a big part as to why I think the second game is a much stronger effort by Naughty Dog.

This game, like all the others, looks awesome. The controls are tight and having Drake move around the environment and jump, swing, shoot and fight generally feels fluid and natural. The environments are very well thought out and sometime moments in the game are truly outstanding ie: The Cruse Ship and Cargo Plane stand out and will be a memorible gaming moment for the rest of my days.

I am sure this is not the last we will see of the Drake series. This seems like it is simply an end to a chapter and that there is a lot to be told of this overarching story. Naughty Dog should be very proud of the characters and world they have created and although it is not my favourite of the games, it still is a very solid experience and I recommend this game to anyone out there. As a game, I give this one an 8 out of 10, but the series overall gets a full out 10 out of 10 from me. Thanks very much for the great times Drake. See you soon buddy.

A few days ago I finished reading up on the most recent Robert Langdon story and although I did not hate it, I believe it is the weakest of the three books. Dan Brown has once again impressed me with his vast knowledge/research into things that many people are intrigued by, but few people know the truth. He manages to make the seemingly boring study of symbols relevant and thought provoking which is not an easy thing to do. I love how he goes into details of how many of the symbols and sayings we have today have changed over time, yet in many ways they are just as powerful and important as they were in ancient times... even if the common person doesn't really notice it.

Unlike the other two Robert Langdon books, the Lost Symbol does not take place in Europe but in Washington DC... an absolute Mecca of symbolism and secrets. This however, is about the only difference from the other two books. The plot rolls out pretty much the same as it does in Angels and Demons and The Davinci Code... Robert Langdon gets a call from a friend, ends up in some kind of trouble and needs to decode something while being pursued by police and chasing after a crazy madman. In the end, the madman gets caught/dies and Robert Langdon quietly solves the mystery on his own in the last few pages of the book.

Although I enjoyed the history on the symbols of the United States and a closer look into the secret society of the Freemasons and what they stand for, I was not as amazed/enthralled as I was in his other books. Dan Brown comes close to capturing this magic but never quiet gets there. Don't get me wrong, there are some very interesting parts in this book about America's founding fathers and their belief system, but it never soars to the heights of things such as Jesus married a woman and had a family... which I guess is a pretty lofty height.

The real part of the book that failed for me was how it seemed a little too similar to the other books... there are a few very outlandish moments... perhaps not as crazy as the falling from a helicopter and surviving moment we see in Angels and Demons, but fairly close. The bad guy in the book could have been interchanged with the bad guy in the previous books and his ultimate end and why he was doing all the things to these people did not really sit well with me and seemed pretty far fetched.

Overall, the book is pretty good. In fact, if it weren't for the previous outstanding books, I would probably have enjoyed the Lost Symbol much more. It seems that Dan Brown is keeping a little too close to the tired and true and hopefully in his next book, he can find a way to change things up in an interesting way. If you have never read a Dan Brown book before I would say start with this one, then move on to either the Davinci Code or Angels and Demons. I give this book a 7.5 out of 10 and look forward to Dan Brown's next effort.

]]>Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:46:37 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/06/21/the-lost-symbol-review#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/05/28/everyone-lies-to-me
How many times do you think you are lied to in a day? I seem to be having a string of lies just piling up over the last little while and I am getting rather frustrated with it. I am not saying that I never lie, but anytime I may mislead someone it is not with bad intentions nor is it an attempt to fuck with that person(s).

In the past few years, I have been told by a group of people that they could make things work, which ultimately, they could not and many MANY dollars were spent facilitating these failed attempts. These people are now gone and left us with the bill to clean up there mess, which we ultimately did, but it may be too late to save what was once a very innovative and cool idea.
Other people more recently have lied to me regarding stocks, one of which I was fooled into giving much of my grandfathers inheritance too (which was not a huge amount but a good cunk of dough).... that stock is currently one of the worst performing stocks on the market...and lost more than 90% of its value in the 12 months that I owed the stock. All the people that gave us presentations and numbers and values and trends are all gone and disappeared.

Even in my personal life a guy that told me he could play for my hockey team, who seemed like a nice guy, for whatever reason has made me look like a fool in front of my friends. I asked this guy if he would like to play for us.... he said yes, and that he would pay up front and we got him a jersey we had a pre-summer season party, he met most of the guys on the team and everything seemed like it was going well. Then it turned into a shit storm. I thought it would be a good idea to have this guy bring the beer for after the game for our first outing... I figured it would be a good way for this guy to meet the team a little better, since everyone gives a nice "Thanks for bringing the beer dude" to the beer guy.... welp, minutes before our first game he messages me and say he cant make it because he needs to stay late at work... No problem... I picked up the beer for him instead. The second game we had I asked him to bring the beer again... he said he would... but an hour before the game he messaged me and said he had baseball tickets... so I picked up the beer for him again. The third game I asked him... in person.... CAN YOU BRING THE BEER? he said sure... I didnt bother to follow up because I was certain a normal person would not bail 3 times and let an entire team down by forgetting to show up with beer..... he was a no show. The next day when I asked him why he didnt show up he said it was because he fell asleep....??? Dude... 15 other guys were wanting some beers after the game... and he didnt even message.
The next game I had another guy bring beer, but my guy didnt show up to the game. Tonight was the last straw... he hadn't paid yet... I told him our team was getting upset and that he needed to wire the money over to our team captain. He told me twice that he did it but the team captain never received the funds... I asked him in person if he would be at the game and he said he would... he said he just got his skates sharpened and that he was excited. I sent him several messages before the game saying that if he didnt email the money to just bring it to the game.... and he did not show up. You fucking liars. There I said it.

P.S. the weather man is the biggest liar of them all.

Trust no one apparently

]]>Mon, 28 May 2012 21:30:22 -0700Edithttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/05/28/everyone-lies-to-me#disqus_threadhttp://www.ign.com/blogs/spoondan1/2012/05/01/insane-but-not-alone-you-hold-on-and-let-go
Its not their best work... but it is their newest in 15 years and its not an album song, but a soundtrack song. That said... the first new Soundgarden single since 1997 is pretty awesome... and I hear the movie is good too. I have said it before... and I say it again... long live Soundgarden.